Re: [RC] Venezuela heads toward disaster
The problem is also one of knowing the extent of our actual jihadist enemies. Barry uses a figure of 120 million, viz about 10 % of the world Muslim population. But it could be anywhere from half that to twice , or close to a fourth of all Muslims. No-one knows. Distribution is also guesswork. Yemen wasn't even on most Americans' radar until Christmas. We all know about Pakistan and Sudan but the phenomenon can arise where we least expect it, including the suburbs of London or Paris. This is not going away any time soon. Good news : It could implode in Iran, at least if the democracy movement finally prevails, and places like the Gulf states and Morocco and no-one wants to spoil a good thing. But here's the crux of the matter. Eboo Patel, in the WPost made a telling observation. Think of Buddhism and who comes to mind ? Years ago it was DT Suzuki the Zen philosopher; now it is the Dalai Lama. Think of Islam and who comes to mind ? Three guesses, the first two don't count. Osama bin Laden. Patel made a pitch for a "good Samaritan" Muslim who no-one has ever heard of as a better "face of Islam." However , he misses the point. Sure, you can find good Muslims in the world, and not just a few. But why aren't they famous ? Because we all know what most characterizes the values of the masses And who does the most newsworthy things. For a combination of reasons, starting with preachments in the Qur'an, there is anti-everyone-else mentality that is intrinsic to the religion. Add the Israel factor, Kashmir, sectarianism in Iraq, etc, and the pot is always boiling, if not everywhere, at least in 3 or 4 countries. or 7 or 8. To make this even more "fun," the Left, the hard Left to be precise, now is pro-Islam --on the theory that Muslims are "oppressed" by definition and therefore can be explained by some Marxist paradigm. Maybe this is worst in France ( where Foucault, etc, were all champions of the Iranian regime ), but it sure in heck exists all over the USA too, probably at every college campus except Liberty University. OK, an exaggeration, but to make the idea as clear as possible. Hard to win a war when you --people generally-- don't admit they are in one, or don't realize that whatever they think, the jihadists are at war with us. My humble opinion Billy In a message dated 2/9/2010 11:15:50 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, oregonj...@willamette.net writes: Good morning, nice to meet you, cyberally speaking. The threat of jihadist Islam is real, no doubt. Just look at those formerly out-of-the-way places like Ethopia, Thailand, Eretria, The Maldives...all now bubbling with jihadists and ever-increasing Islamic ideology. Any policy that the West decides upon is based in an incorrect mindset which says that all parties are equal, and deserving of the same Western values/views as anybody else. Islam, as defined and practiced today by over 120M Muslims says that they are one (ummah) and that anything done to one Muslim is done to all, thus the continuous calls for unity and emnity against non-Muslims. You are correct in that the "noise" means nothing to Islam, it is merely a slight distraction from the battle against the infidels. We cannot divide them, we can, however understand what motivates them (see Sun Tzu) and then address that core method truthfully, honestly and with an open mind. Can we do that? Or are we consigned to wearing those rose-colored glasses, always believeing that our enemies are NOT our enemies, and more hugs will make them play nice. I am afraid that the latter applies today. Barry > Hi Barry, > > On Feb 9, 2010, at 10:33 AM, oregonj...@willamette.net wrote: >> This is another example of creeping sharia and stealth jihad, aided and >> abetted by those who have stated their animosity towards anything >> Western. >> >> Watch C.A. closely, especially Chavez. Dark clouds loom on the southern >> horizon. > > Fascinating data. > > The question arises, are we better off with a policy that pushes our > enemies together so we can face them all at once, or should we be looking > at ways to divide them from each other? > > Or is everybody else just "noise" compared to the threat of jihadist > Islam? > > -- Ernie P. > > > ___ > Centroids mailing list: Centroids@radicalcentrism.com > http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com > Archives at > http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/ > ___ Centroids mailing list: Centroids@radicalcentrism.com http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com Archives at http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/ ___ Centroids mailing list: Centroids@radi
Re: [RC] Venezuela heads toward disaster
Good morning, nice to meet you, cyberally speaking. The threat of jihadist Islam is real, no doubt. Just look at those formerly out-of-the-way places like Ethopia, Thailand, Eretria, The Maldives...all now bubbling with jihadists and ever-increasing Islamic ideology. Any policy that the West decides upon is based in an incorrect mindset which says that all parties are equal, and deserving of the same Western values/views as anybody else. Islam, as defined and practiced today by over 120M Muslims says that they are one (ummah) and that anything done to one Muslim is done to all, thus the continuous calls for unity and emnity against non-Muslims. You are correct in that the "noise" means nothing to Islam, it is merely a slight distraction from the battle against the infidels. We cannot divide them, we can, however understand what motivates them (see Sun Tzu) and then address that core method truthfully, honestly and with an open mind. Can we do that? Or are we consigned to wearing those rose-colored glasses, always believeing that our enemies are NOT our enemies, and more hugs will make them play nice. I am afraid that the latter applies today. Barry > Hi Barry, > > On Feb 9, 2010, at 10:33 AM, oregonj...@willamette.net wrote: >> This is another example of creeping sharia and stealth jihad, aided and >> abetted by those who have stated their animosity towards anything >> Western. >> >> Watch C.A. closely, especially Chavez. Dark clouds loom on the southern >> horizon. > > Fascinating data. > > The question arises, are we better off with a policy that pushes our > enemies together so we can face them all at once, or should we be looking > at ways to divide them from each other? > > Or is everybody else just "noise" compared to the threat of jihadist > Islam? > > -- Ernie P. > > > ___ > Centroids mailing list: Centroids@radicalcentrism.com > http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com > Archives at > http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/ > ___ Centroids mailing list: Centroids@radicalcentrism.com http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com Archives at http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/
Re: [RC] Venezuela heads toward disaster
Hi Barry, On Feb 9, 2010, at 10:33 AM, oregonj...@willamette.net wrote: > This is another example of creeping sharia and stealth jihad, aided and > abetted by those who have stated their animosity towards anything Western. > > Watch C.A. closely, especially Chavez. Dark clouds loom on the southern > horizon. Fascinating data. The question arises, are we better off with a policy that pushes our enemies together so we can face them all at once, or should we be looking at ways to divide them from each other? Or is everybody else just "noise" compared to the threat of jihadist Islam? -- Ernie P. ___ Centroids mailing list: Centroids@radicalcentrism.com http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com Archives at http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/
Re: [RC] Venezuela heads toward disaster
Not only is Venezuela suffering from the joys of dictatorship, it is also one of those places where most of us only think of coffee, and mountains, and colorful natives, not jihad. Islam has come to Central America and Chavez is a leader in the rise of Islamic jihad in that part of the globe... http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=37133 http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2006/September/middleeast_September479.xml§ion=middleeast&col= http://articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/27/world/fg-venezterror27 This is another example of creeping sharia and stealth jihad, aided and abetted by those who have stated their animosity towards anything Western. Watch C.A. closely, especially Chavez. Dark clouds loom on the southern horizon. Barry Miami Herald > February 8, 2010 > > Venezuela heads toward disaster > OUR OPINION: Region's leaders need to act > > > What little is left of Venezuela's democracy has taken a literal beating > from President Hugo Chávez's uniformed goon squads -- again. > Police used a variety of weapons, from water cannons to plastic bullets, > last week to disperse hundreds of student protesters who refuse to > knuckle > under to an increasingly desperate and unpopular president determined to > remain in power at all costs. > While the president and his followers were celebrating the anniversary of > the failed 1992 coup that first brought him to national attention, the > students were protesting the deterioration of their country. It wasn't > the first > time that Mr. Chávez has resorted to force to quell peaceful political > opponents, but the frustration level inside the country is rising as > Venezuela's political and economic situation goes from bad to worse. > Rolling blackouts, currency devaluation and price inflation (the worst in > Latin America), water shortages and scarce commodities -- this is what 11 > years of a Chávez presidency have produced. > Dismal energy program > As if to underline the utter befuddlement of Mr. Chávez's inept > government, an advisory team from Cuba, of all places, was brought in to > improve the > dismal energy program. Cuba? That's like asking Scott Rothstein for advice > on legal ethics. > The problem with PDVSA, the oil company, as Venezuelans well know, is that > Mr. Chávez turned it into a sinecure for political cronies, destroying its > once admirable efficiency and productive value. Only by putting the > experts > back in charge can it hope to recover, but President Chávez is not about > to hand authority over to anyone who is not a known loyalist. > The problems at PDVSA are emblematic of what's wrong with Venezuela and > why > his Bolivarian revolution is in trouble. Mr. Chávez has run the economy, > and the country, into the ground, but that hasn't stopped him from making > trouble wherever he can. > As the streets of Caracas were in turmoil, the U.S. director of national > intelligence, former Admiral Dennis Blair, was giving Congress an > unvarnished > assessment of Mr. Chávez's presidency that underlines the danger he > represents to the entire region. > He has cultivated friendships in all the wrong places, beginning with > Iran, > spent $6 billion to buy weapons from Russia, and provided covert support > to the terrorist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). > Pressure Chávez > All of this spells disaster for the people of Venezuela -- and the > hemisphere. It can be avoided only by the concerted effort of other > countries in > the region to pressure Mr. Chávez to moderate his behavior and adhere to > the > rules of democracy. > Isn't that what the Organization of American States is for? Mr. Chávez has > undermined, if not destroyed Venezuela's once vibrant, if imperfect, > democracy. He has bullied his neighbors, fueled a regional arms race and > brought > political tensions inside the country to a boiling point. The region's > leaders shouldn't wait for domestic bloodshed or a cross-border conflict > to > move them to act. > ___ > Centroids mailing list: Centroids@radicalcentrism.com > http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com > Archives at > http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/ ___ Centroids mailing list: Centroids@radicalcentrism.com http://radicalcentrism.com/mailman/listinfo/centroids_radicalcentrism.com Archives at http://radicalcentrism.org/pipermail/centroids_radicalcentrism.com/
